The IBBC Agritech team attended the very instructive discussion about AI applications in agriculture at the International Fertilizer Association’s conference in Singapore. The principals of AI are universally applicable to business and individuals alike, and in this instance some examples of how it is and can impact the agricultural sector are very illuminating.

Four speakers took us through AI and its practical applications : Spencer Low of Google APAC, Alex Asbridge of EY, Lior Frimet of ICL, Roslyn Chua of Bayer and Majda Moumni of OCP- all using AI extensively in their operations.

Spencer Low outlined four points: AI is just a technology that is only meaningful if it is helpful to all, for example for farmers fighting pests better- using the right type and amount of pesticides, to check the weather and micro climates in e.g. Bazil, and for rice research to refresh and test phenotypes and identify best strains, or to help diagnose diseases in villages in Kenya online. AI applications must be human centric and helpful. For corporates AI is driving growth and efficiencies and to future proof companies against competition and disruptions in the market (or climate). It impact topline costs while also driving resilience and competitiveness through product innovation by integrating and interrogating data sets for opportunities. AI can overcome threats, speed up decision making through rapid scale data analysis and innovating through synthesising context and generating and testing creative ideas for products.

The majority of corporations and governments are already using live AI to streamline operations to realise significant value through AI: 69% using data, 60% using AI to improve processes, 56% service to clients. AI is accelerating better decision making, whether in digital farming, or (ICL group) to pervade and run operations via AI- where people are used as supervisors of the self-improving AI system, not as experts or practitioners within it. Bayer for example, are using deep learning with their tech people to drive 3x productivity which can either be fed back into more tech or go to the balance sheet. They are also using AI for innovation and creating new products faster and for better customer experience, such as serving the end farmers and corporates via their phones and multi-modality (text, video, phones, online) with agronomic data, and to gather information directly from the field via drones and photography for e.g. use of herbicides and biomass info feedback.

Alec of EY stated that AI is democratising access, decision making and information to people, that was previously the preserve of a few data scientists, but is now readily available to all businesses so they can optimise operations.

How can organizations get started? Google say that its likely operations are sitting on data they didn’t know they had, so working with a partner to realise and use their data well is a first step (ie creating generative AI info) and make it useable and visible. Once data is available it can be used in all areas of operations (ICL’s Frimet ) and will have impact everywhere, to create autonomous operations, new product and market opportunities, to reduce costs and increase productivity and expand offerings and transition staff to supervisory roles, which requires training and change management.

OCP say that fertilizer is now part of the global digital transformation system, using data to digitise operations. They operate digital supply chains to create new value chains  from mining through to addressing agricultural markets and advising on better soils- which has had impact on all areas from HR to training and value bots and smart farming and direct relationships with small holders and SMEs. This has led to 5% increase in profitability through efficiency.

Google say that using data with AI enables you to look at data differently and enable you to prioritise, grow and future proof better, and that the impact of AI/Tech is so important to organisations it should be owned by the CEO.

What risks are there in AI? Human input and recording are inherently faulty and can replicate across data sets at scale – be aware of data bias from geography, demographics and social parameters. Be aware of IP issues and know who owns what and how to protect data and outputs. Is it owned by the tech platform, the company, or individuals ? Ensure your data is protected and the end user and employees are trained to work well with AI– to empower them to make better decisions and outcomes.

Overall, AI should be a force for improvement, efficiency, productivity, innovation and profitability– create better, new relationships with end users putting power of information in their hands while providing feedback loops to companies, and ultimately confer greater market resilience to organisations. In terms of agriculture, we are on the cusp of anew green revolution through AI supporting sustainable farming while increasing yields, feeding the world, using less natural areas and addressing aridification of climate regions.

Ashley Goodall, IBBC Tech Forum comments “ It’s clear AI is here now and impacting all business areas and sectors. Agriculture has been relatively overlooked in media, but this is about to change as new techniques and innovations will pervade the sector. Companies and countries that fail to apply AI will be at an increasing disadvantage to those who deploy it . This is a topic that IBBC will be pursuing in our Tech Forum discussion on 1 st July 1pm BST as a prelude to IBBC Spring Conference at the Mansion House on 2 nd July. “ Contact [email protected] to register 

 AG 22/05/24